Florida rules American Idol's Hollywood Week, with four hopefuls from Tampa Bay area

When Fox's hit show American Idol announced a schedule of auditions which skipped the Sunshine State last year, I assumed that meant Florida hopefuls would be tough to find on TV's most popular singing contest.

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No such luck. Turns out, singers from Florida have made a strong showing in Idol's Hollywood Week, the next level of auditioning for hopefuls who survive the cattle call tryouts taped last year and aired over the past few weeks.

By my count, 14 of the 300 or so people featured on the show's Hollywood Week auditions are from Florida, including four from the Tampa Bay area.

Idol has faced serious challenges this year, with ratings down, increased competition from NBC's The Voice and a decided lack of buzz for early episodes which mostly focused on successful auditions.

"The rest of the world would love these ratings," executive producer Nigel Lythgoe told journalists Tuesday, sounding a bit exasperated with constant questions about viewership, which stands just below and average 20-million, but has dipped more than 30 percent among key viewers according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. "We should be saying 'Isn't it great that we're still America's Number One show?'"

In a change from scheduling announced in January, Idol airs the Hollywood Week auditions beginning tonight, airing Thursday and next Wednesday.

Here's a look at the four local folks worth keeping an eye on:

Jeremy Rosado

Age: 19

Hometown: Valrico, Fla.

Rosado, who says he auditioned four times before to appear on Idol, is among two Tampa Bay area contestants rumored to make the show's Top 24 contestants according to the spoiler site The Idol Pad.

Shannon Magrane

Age: 16

Hometown: Tampa, Fla.

Magrane, the daughter of ex-Major League Baseball pitcher-turned-commentator Joe Magrane, is the second area resident rumored to reach the Top 24. The website also says she receives a standing ovation during one of her Hollywood Week performances, singing "What a Wonderful World."

Kristin Corpuz

Age: 16

Hometown: Tampa

With time spent at the Patel Conservatory and and array of area theater productions, Corpuz tells Idol -- which misspelled her first name as "Kristen" -- she's been watching the show since she was in kindergarten.

Curtis Gray

Age: 28

Hometown: Spring Hill

Idol lists Gray's hometown as Wakefield, N.H., but the Timesfound him in Spring Hill, where he has reportedly already told friends he didn't make it past the Hollywood Week auditions.